Eternal Icons
by LoveWheel
Summary: Drama. Love. Friendship. Here is my take on the story that is known as Glee. Suck at summaries, but please Enjoy.
1. Chapter One

_** Disclaimer: I do not own Glee **__**or the characters, If I did it would be a lot different then what it is right now. **_

_**Thank you for reading and please review.**_

_**EllaMariee. **_

_**Notes; Just a few things you need to know. This is AU, well not complete there will be some elements from glee but they will be slightly changed. Rachel Berry goes to Carmel High and is in Vocal Adrenaline. Jesse goes to McKinley High, and is in New directions. Rachel knows her mum is Shelby. Also their personalities aren't exactly the same as they are in Glee. Enjoy. **_

_**Chapter one. **_

_**Quote of the day:-**_

"_Where words fails, Music speaks." - **Hans Christian Andersen.** _

Jesse, Puck and Finn walked silently into Carmel High's auditorium. Will Schuester, the coach of New Directions had requested that they went to check out the competition. Their biggest rival was Carmel High School's choir Vocal Adrenaline, the three-time national show choir champions. Vocal Adrenaline were currently stretching on stage getting ready for their rehearsal. A ringing erupted into the room.

"Guys, I need to take this, keep stretching!" Shelby got up from her seat and headed out of the auditorium, the three boys sunk down lower in their chairs at the back of the room as Shelby passed them.

"That was close" Finn whispered as they regained their posture.

"Shh, they can't know that we are here" Jesse whispered back to him to silence him. Rachel was kneeling down fastening the strap on her heels when she saw them. Huddle in the back of the room whispering to each other. She recognised them straight away as the three male leads of New directions. _What on earth were they doing here?_

"Can we help you boys? Come to see what a **real** Show choir looks like?" Rachel's voice boomed as she spotted the three familiar boys rising from there sunken position in the seats at the back. Her whole posture reeked confidence. Her Team mates standing behind her for support as soon as they realised what was going on. They were all in costume, the boys wearing all black with pink high tops and the girls wearing black dresses with a thin pink ribbon around their waist accompanied with black leggings and heels. Before either of the boys could reply everyone turned their backs on them getting into position. Placing their hands on the back of their heads as they waited for the music to begin. Rachel snapped her fingers and the guitarist started strumming on his guitar. Rachel turned abruptly as she started belting out the first set of words, a hand snaked from behind her back and ran up her body. The girls started moving their hips side to side in a fast beat in rhythm with the music.

"_Living easy  
>Living free<br>Season ticket on a one way ride  
>Asking nothing<br>Leave me be  
>Taken everything in my stride<br>Don't need reason  
>Don't need rhyme<br>Ain't nothin' I would rather do  
>Going down<br>party town  
>My friends are gonna be there too"<br>_

Rachel pointed her fingers in two different directions and then everyone started singing to the next part of the song, Rachel began joining in on the dance moves, strutting around stage.

_"I'm on a highway to hell  
>On the highway to hell<br>Highway to hell  
>I'm on the highway to hell"<em>

_"No stop signs_  
><em>Speed limit<em>  
><em>Nobody's gonna slow me down<em>  
><em>Like a wheel<em>  
><em>Gonna spin it<em>  
><em>Nobody's gonna mess me 'round<em>  
><em>Hey Satan<em>  
><em>Paid my dues<em>  
><em>Playin' in a rockin' band<em>  
><em>Hey momma<em>  
><em>Look at me<em>  
><em>I'm on my way to the Promised Land, <strong>wooh<strong>"_

Rachel belted out the last word.

_"I'm on the highway to hell_

_(I'm on the highway)  
>Highway to hell<em>

_(I'm on the highway to hell)  
>I'm on the highway to hell<em>

_(I'm on it, I'm on it)  
>Highway to hell"<em>

Girls were being thrown around all over the place in what assembled an amazing dance routine, thrusting and jerking their bodies at the right times. Rachel was pulled flush against her dance partner as she started belting out the next set of lyrics. 

_"Mmm, don't stop me_  
><em>Eh,Eh,Eh"<em>

_"I'm on the highway to hell_  
><em>On the highway to hell<em>  
><em>I'm on the highway to hell<em>  
><em>On the highway to<em>  
><em>Hell<em>

_Highway to hell  
><em>_I'm on the highway to hell  
><em>_Highway to hell  
><em>_Highway to hell  
>Highway to hell<br>I'm on the highway to hell  
>Highway to hell"<em>

Rachel was quickly spun out to the centre where she could belt out the last sentence of the song. 

_"Don't stop me, ohh, yeahh"_

Jesse, Puck and Finn were sitting there in utter shock. They knew that Vocal Adrenaline were good but they didn't know they were this good.

"Eat your heart out boys" Rachel grinned as the rest of her team mates left the stage and wondered backstage.

"Well so much for not getting noticed" Puck stated.

"Can I help you boys?" All three of them jumped as they looked to their right and saw a slightly older version of Rachel Berry, who was still standing on stage, looking at them. She looked at them expectantly, waiting for a reply.

"Sorry, we shouldn't be here" Finn fumbled as he stood up, he was clearly taller then Miss. Corcoran, but she was very intimidating.

"No you shouldn't, this is a closed rehearsal"

"We'll be on our way then" Puck interjected as both him and Jesse rose from their seats.

"Rachel, baby It's solo time!" She screamed with a clap of her hands from her position at the back of the auditorium.

/

"I'm so depressed now, they were amazing, we are never going to be able to beat that at regionals"

"We can and we will" Jesse said as he turned to be face to face with Finn. "It's not over yet, we are going to give it our best and win!" They both nodded at him and got into his black range rover.

"You do realise that if we even stand a chance of winning against them that we need to teach Finn how to dance"

"I can dance!"

"Dude my bowels have better moves then you" Jesse smirked at Puck's comment.

"He is right, we need to psych them out, we need to come up with our own amazing performance." They fell into silence for a few minutes.

"So, that Berry girl was kinda hot" Puck stated. Jesse Silently agreed to this but did not express his thoughts.

/

The atmosphere in the room was tense. Mr. Schuester was pacing backwards and forwards in front of his students in the choir room. He seemed deep in thought.

"I think we need to start working on our set list"

"We've been telling you that for the pass month" Quinn injected as she placed her hands on her slightly swollen stomach.

"We could have been ready to win right now, but instead you've been giving us assignment after assignment to work on" Kurt spoke up.

"We still have plenty of time to change this around in our favour." Mr Schuester tried to reassure them.

"First things first, we need to come up with a number that will show Vocal Adrenaline that we have what it takes to win, you know psych them out right before the competition."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? We'd be wasting more time. We need the time we have to practice" Jesse gave him a sceptical look.

"Sorry, But this is one thing that we have to do. If we want to stand a chance at winning then we need to show others that we can do it and that we need to be respected. Jesse I need you to somehow get in contact with Shelby or any one from Vocal Adrenaline and let them know that we will be putting on a performance. This Friday." Jesse nodded at the command. "Brittany I want you to work on choreography. Puck, Finn and Mercedes I want you to work on the song choice"

"Mr Schu what's choreography?" Brittany asked with a raise hand. Santana turned to her with a raised eyebrow, as did most of the others in the room.

"Dancing Britt. You are working on the dancing part of things" Brittany nodded in understanding.

"Kurt you can work on costumes" Kurt clapped his hands to show he was happy with the task that was given to him.

"What about the rest of us?" Artie asked.

"Just help out where you can" The others furrowed their eyebrows in disappointment. Everyone started sectioning off in groups discussing the new events that are to occur.

/

Rachel took in a ragged breath and straightened her black dress. She ran a hand through her locks and swept her bangs to the side self-conscientiously. She had just manage to escape from her gruesome rehearsal and was now making her way outside to get some fresh air. She stood against the backstage door examining the parking lot, making sure each car was in check, after her inspection was done she placed her hands on her knees and relaxed, controlling her breathing. She heard someone vomiting from her left side, she turned and was shocked at what she saw. Andrea Cohen, her close friend and team mate was violently vomiting just a mere foot from the dustbins.

"Andrea? Are you alright?" She tentatively stepped closer to her, not sure of what she should do to help the poor girl out. Andrea looked up and her eyes widen when she recognised that she had been caught.

"I'm fine, really, I just wasn't feeling so good." She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before quickly passing Rachel and entering back through the backstage doors. A few minutes later the doors burst open again and out came Giselle.

"Rachel, Shelby wants you back in _now_, she wants us to start practising again." _And back to hell I go. _Rachel thought. After a few more gruelling hours of rehearsals they were dismissed.

"Rachel, Do you need a lift home?" Shelby asked as she started packing her notes into her handbag and putting on her sunglasses.

"No, I'm going to head down to the music store or something, pick out songs that we could perhaps use for regionals. " Shelby simply nodded at her before leaving the auditorium.

/

Rachel was not familiar with the music store that she had just entered, she normally went to the one down town, but she had wanted to get as far away from home as possible and as far away from her mother as possible. She had been feeling different in herself in the past few days, even though her life was exactly the same as it had been before, it was like something inside her clicked, she was seeing everything in a different light. She was having trouble explaining it, but it was like she suddenly understood what it was like to be in her team mates shoes. Looking at the music book she had lifted blindly flipping through the pages as she made her way over to a free table and placed herself and the book down.

"Just the person I was looking for." She looked up when she heard the voice and noticed him, she looked around to make sure it was her that he was talking to before she addressed him.

"Excuse me?" She recognised him as the Green-eyed-curly-brown-haired boy that had been spying on her earlier on in the day.

"Just came to give you a message"

"And how did you know I would be here?"

"I didn't, I just got out of my car to come in myself when I saw you walk in"

"So just a coincidence then. What was that message you had for me?"

"Oh it's not just for you, it's for your whole team. You need to be in McKinley's auditorium, Friday, 4pm sharp, you're in for a little treat"

"And if we don't turn up?"

"Your loss" He winked at her, leaving her with her thoughts as he made his way down another aisle to locate some of his favourite music books. Rachel pulled out her cell phone to text all of her team mates and Shelby to let them know of the news that she had just received. She flipped her phone shut quickly and scanned the room, trying to locate the boy that she just had little converse with. Deciding that he had left she quickly glanced back down to her book and turned the page. The title of the song catching her eye, she smiled before heading over to the cashier to check out. She was walking back to the bus stop when she was bombarded with replies from all her team mates. Her last one from her mother demanding that she return home immediately so that they could discuss the news. _**Best to ignore it. **_

/

Friday came around the corner quite quickly, New Directions were waiting in a small room backstage in the auditorium, waiting for Mr. Schuester to tell them that Vocal Adrenaline had arrived.

"Why are we even sitting here, if our so-called captain doesn't even bother showing up?" Chris whispered to Giselle as they sat in the front row of the auditorium with the rest of Vocal Adrenaline. She merely shrugged at him as she noticed the lights dim and someone walked to the centre of the stage, the spot light following his every move. The boys followed shortly after him standing in a line on the stage, on either side of their lead with their heads down. The girls then copied their steps and stood with their backs against their respected dance partner's front, their heads face forward. Their lead vocalist's eyes scanned the people that were seated in front of him in search of someone in particular. He was disappointed when he couldn't find the person he was looking for before bowing his head and waiting for the music behind him to start.

"_Any way you want it  
>That's the way you need it<br>Anyway you want it  
>whoaaaa oooh"<em>

_"She loves to laugh, she loves to sing_  
><em>she does everything<em>  
><em>she loves to move, she loves to groove<em>  
><em>she loves lovin' things"<em>

_"It won't be long yeah till you're alone_  
><em>When your lover (looove)<em>  
><em>Oh he hasn't come home<em>  
><em>'Cause he's lovin (lovin) ooh he's touchin' (touchin)<em>  
><em>he's squeezin' another (another)"<em>

Their dancing was in sync, the girls touching the boys inappropriately when certain lyrics were sung.

_"Any way you want it  
>That's the way you need it<br>Anyway you want it  
>(he said)<br>Any way you want it  
>That's the way you need it<br>Anyway you want it  
>ooooooh"<em>

_"na na-na na naaa"_

_"I was alone I never knew_  
><em>What good love could do<em>  
><em>then we touched then we sang<em>  
><em>about the lovely things<em>  
><em>'Cause he's lovin (lovin) ooh he's touchin' (touchin)<em>  
><em>he's squeezin' another"<em>

The song was at it's climax when the doors burst open and Rachel stormed down the aisle in a rush, evidently she had been crying because her eyes were puffy and a shade of red, she silently slummed down into a seat a few rows behind her team mates as she focused her eyes on the competition.

_"Any way you want it  
>That's the way you need it<br>Anyway you want it  
>(he said)<br>Any way you want it  
>That's the way you need it<br>Anyway you want it  
>ooooooh"<em>

_"na na-na na naaa"_

_(Guitar solo)_

_"Any way you want it_  
><em>That's the way you need it<em>  
><em>Anyway you want it<em>  
><em>(he said)<em>  
><em>Any way you want it<em>  
><em>That's the way you need it<em>  
><em>Anyway you want it"<em>

_"na na-na na naaa_  
><em>na na-na na naaa"<em>

Each member of New Directions had smiles plastered on their faces as the song ended, shocked faces were their answer to how good they was. One stood up clapping her hands, making her presence known.

"Congratulations, You have deemed yourself a worthy competition for regionals." Rachel picked up her discarded handbag and turned to make a exit.

"Rachel, Where have you been?" Giselle also rose from her seat, facing her captain.

"I haven't got time for this Giselle" Was her only reply as she carried on walking out of the auditorium, Jesse swore that he saw her raise her hand to wipe away tears that had formed in her eyes, he also caught her glancing momentarily at her phone that was in her hand before he saw her belt out of the double doors and out of his sight.

"See you punks at regionals!" Puck shouted at the rest of the team as they themselves followed their captain in suit.

/

Quinn drops her pen, letting it lie in the AP chemistry textbook in front of her, letting a sigh escape her lips. She looks to her left and notices that Jesse is furiously jotting down notes in his notebook, she then looked to her right and noticed Santana bobbing her head lightly to the beat of the music that is blaring from her ipod while at the same time twisting a piece of chewing gum between her teeth and fingers, clearly abandoning her time for studying.

"San, What are you even doing here if you're not going to bother studying" She removed one of her headphones as she noticed Quinn's lips moving but not catching what she said, she gave her a look that said 'what?' to which Quinn repeated her question.

"It's either this or Sue is going to make me run 25 laps around the football pitch" Quinn started making a noise that resembled a gagging sound, this caused both set of eyes to land on her.

"Morning sickness is starting to kick in" They both nodded their heads at her before resuming their activities.

"Why will Sue make you run 25 laps?" Jesse questioned without bothering to remove his eyes from his note book.

"Because she's Sue Sylvester and She said we need to be physically prepared for nationals or something. I envy you sometimes Quinn."

"Are you serious? How can you envy me, I'm pregnant"

"Oh, not that part, that part sucks. I envy the fact that you managed to escape Sue Sylvester's wrath"  
>"I actually can't wait to pop this thing out and get back into my uniform"<p>

"Charming" Jesse said referring to Quinn's statement.

"So what about that performance on Friday then? It was something wasn't it?"

"Did you see their faces? It was priceless!" Both girls were now giggling with each other, becoming overly excited.

"We are so going to crush Vocal Adrenaline at regionals!"

"I wonder what was up with that Berry girl though." Trust Jesse to ruin the mood.

"Who cares, she was probably just being overly dramatic about something that wasn't even important to start with"

"Maybe" Jesse muttered before gathering his notes and rising from his chair.

"Where are you going?" Quinn frowned at him.

"I have a lesson in 10 minutes, so I'm going to get my books from my locker and head to class"

"I'll join you, I need to get something from my locker anyway"

"Guys, where you going?"

"Bye Santana" They both left her there listening to her music.

/

"And from the top again!" Shelby screamed from her position in the middle of the auditorium. A series of collective groans and eye-rolling was emitted from the group of teens on stage. Rachel pursed her lips and turned to look at the faces of her team mates, they all looked in pain and they all looked exhausted. A few people were holding onto each other as they started to catch their breath. Rachel started out hesitantly, which was a first for her because she never normally got nervous.

"Mama, We need a break, we've been rehearsing for four hours straight, cut us some slack, Don't you think we have regionals in the bag already?"

"What have I told you before Rachel, Call me Shelby!" Shelby didn't even throw Rachel a glance as she clapped her hands yet again to signal for everyone to get into position. Rachel threw her head back with an outward groan. Rachel looked around the room frantically watching as everyone started to do as they was told.

"I take that as a no" Rachel mumbled as she herself got into position. Rachel gave her mother one last pleading look, trying to convince her to let them off for at least a few minutes.

"Don't look at me like that Rachel, You of all people know that I'm a perfectionist"

"Yes I know that, But for once I think you're taking it a bit too far, If we carry on any more we're going to die!"

"Stop being so dramatic"

"I learn from only the best, right, _you of all people should know that_" Lucky enough Shelby's phone went off signalling that she had a call, so she could not throw a comment to resort in Rachel's direction. Everyone started to rush off stage knowing that this is possibly the only chance they would get at a break.

**How was that for a first chapter? I wasn't sure if I should end it there or give you a bit more, But I decided that this would be good enough for now. Let me know what you think, Reviews are much appreciated. The next chapter will be up shortly. **


	2. Chapter Two

_**Disclaimer – I do not own glee or the characters, If I did it would be a lot different then what it is right now.  
><strong>__**Thank you for reading and please review.  
>So I am hoping to upload a chapter every sunday, but if I do upload before that then consider yourself lucky.<strong>__**  
><strong>__**EllaMariee.  
><strong>___

_**Chapter Two. **_

_**Quote of the day:- **_

"_One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain." - **Bob Marley**. _

Mr. Schuester walked past the guidance office, glancing in to see if he could spot Emma behind her desk. Disappointed that she was not there he continued on his way through the hallway to the administration office where he had been summoned by Principal Figgins regarding God knows what now. He was hoping that it was nothing to do with Sue Sylvester, he couldn't deal with her and her ways right now. Knocking softly on the door, Figgins waved him in and continued the animated conversation he was having with an unfamiliar man in the chair across from him, A lady was standing a few centimetres away from him and he soon recognised her as the coach of Vocal Adrenaline, Shelby Corcoran. Will walked in and hesitated before Figgins again gestured at him to sit down in the only vacant chair.

"Thank you for coming William"

"No problem, what exactly is this about?"

"It turns out my sponsor-er has decided that he not only wants to sponsor Vocal Adrenaline but he also wants to sponsor New Directions!" Shelby was clearly in rage.

"But I already have a sponsor, so problem solved."

"No William you do not have a sponsor any more. He dropped you 2 weeks ago" Figgins cut in.

"And you failed to mention this to me?"

"Let me introduce myself, I am Joe Bailon"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Will Schuester" They shook hands before Joe carried on with the conversation.

"I want to sponsor New Directions, but also Vocal Adrenaline. But unfortunately I cannot sponsor more then one team at a time. So you see William I have a slight problem, I need to make a decision here, It's either New Directions or Vocal Adrenaline"

"Why can't you just pick?"

"It's difficult, both teams have potential"

"But you've been sponsoring us for the past three years!"

"Sorry, some things have to change"

"I have an idea" William said with a grin, both Shelby and Joe turned and looked at him, intrigued by his facial expression.

/

Rachel felt all eyes on her and her team mates as they walked through the entrance of McKinley High, clad in uniform black hoodies with their school name scrolled across the middle reading 'Carmel High'. Shelby was up front leading them through the throng of people that began to fall silent.

"Oh, _Please_, It's like they've never seen anyone stride through the halls" Rachel heard from behind her, a small smirk present of her face as she recognised Giselle's voice.

"Correction, they've never seen _Winners_ walk through their halls" Chris corrected.

"Shelby, what exactly are we doing here?" With fierce instructions by Shelby, Rachel was not aloud to call her 'Mother' while around her team mates or at school.

"You'll see" Was her only reply as they reached a set of double doors which were forcefully pushed open. The members of New Directions were already present and seated at the front of the auditorium and William Schuester was standing in the middle of the stage.

"Find a seat" Shelby instructed to which everyone did as told. Vocal Adrenaline and New Directions sat on opposing sides to each other. Both teams were in an uncharacteristic silence, all confused as to what was happening. Their confusion was increased as Shelby joined William on stage.

"I know you're all wondering why your here and there is a good explanation" William started.

"I'm just going to cut straight to the chase. The only way we can compete is if we have a sponsor and our sponsor-er wants us to combined teams. So you're all now one big happy family. Great, they get it, lets get started" Shelby didn't wait for any objections as she started making her way to the stage steps.

"What! You can't be serious! There is no way I'm a working with them, they have no talent" Giselle screamed after she had register what Shelby had told them.

"Well, I'm sorry to inform you Giselle, but if you want to compete at Regionals then you have to work with them. Failing that you could always quit." Shelby was in no mood for arguments. Giselle's mouth gaped open.

"This is bullshit! We would never be able to work with them, It just wouldn't work out" Puck raised from his seat as he pointed in the direction of Vocal Adrenaline.

"Puck, watch your language, and sit down! This is not up for discussion, it's happening and that's final!"

"One problem, how exactly are we meant to become one team if we have already competed at sectionals as separate teams?"

"It's all been cleared with the board, they are allowing it because of our situation, I presented an alternative to them which was for us to compete as one team and they accepted it. It was either that or both teams would have to forfeit."

"Speaking of combining teams, Now that both teams have merged we have to think of a new team name, Because we can't keep on calling ourselves Vocal Adrenaline and New Directions" Shelby was now seated in the front row of the seats with her respected team.

"How about Vocal Directions or New Adrenaline?" Brittany said from her spot in the middle of her group of team mates.

"Are you serious, they both suck!" Chris shouted from one side of the room. Rachel rose a hand up to signal for Chris to be silent from his position from behind her.

"Can't we just think of a Name later on, I would personally like to talk about solos and who will be getting them" Rachel said.

"Who said anything about solos" William replied.

"Ma-Shelby, you can't seriously agree with him on this?" Rachel quickly corrected her mistake.

"Rachel not now" Shelby was not up for any of her diva-like outbursts, Rachel huffed in frustration.

"Why don't we just get to know everyone today and start rehearsing tomorrow" Will suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement but no one made the first move.

/

Jacob Ben Israel was lurking the hallways of McKinley High, when he spotted his newest target. One Miss Rachel Berry. She was still wearing her black hoodie that read 'Carmel High' on it.

"Rachel?" He approached, to which she stopped abruptly. She looked at him with distaste.

"Can I help you?" She was cutting straight to it, no funny business.

"Hi, Jacob Ben Israel. I wanted to give you a review, you know review you singing abilities and post it on my blog, Everyone here at McKinley reads it."

"Really? That would be great! When should we start? Wait. What do you get out of this?" She was starting to get suspicious of his longing gaze that he was directing at her.

"All you have to do is show me what you got on under that black number." He suggested, his eyes directing downwards.

"You, sunshine can stuff your review where the sun don't shine, Okay" She gave his cheek a gentle slap before carrying on her way before she was stopped again.

"You've got spunk. I like it. We could get on just fine" Quinn commented after witnessing the past events. Rachel recognised her from the last choir meeting as being the pregnant blonde that hardly put in any input.

"Glad to know. Is he always like that?" Rachel questioned as they carried on walking down the hallway.

"Once he has picked his target he won't give up till he gets something out of it"

"Great, Just great."

"At least you have a guy chasing after you, Once everyone finds out your pregnant they want nothing to do with you." Rachel gave her a sympathetic look.

"Anyway I have a lesson now, What are you still doing here? Aren't you meant to be back at school?"

"Waiting for Shelby to give me a lift back or home, whatever she decides." Was her reply as she made her way to the school exit and out onto the car park, leaving Quinn to go to her lesson.

/

Rachel was constantly checking her phone, waiting to receive a text, a phone call, anything. She had been waiting out front for the past hour now and she was gradually getting bored. The final school bell rang in her ears signalling that school had ended, a sea of students started rushing out into the open. Rain started to prickle down on her body, she sigh as she placed her hood over her head and dialled the familiar number. No answer.

"Are you okay?" She heard someone shout to her, but she didn't bother to answer the person, it was soon followed by the sound of someone's shoes as they ran towards her.

"Are you okay?" The person repeated, he placed his hand on her shoulder and bent his head a little to get a better look at her face.

"Yes" She looked up and caught his gaze. It was Jesse. "I'm just waiting for Shelby to give me a lift home"

"Shelby, I saw her leave like half an hour ago"

"Really? Great, she was my only way home. So like her"

"Do you want a lift?"

"You want to give me a lift?"

"Yeah, why not, we're meant to be getting along any way now that we are on the same team and all. We can get to know each other on the ride home"

"That would actually be nice" She gave him a genuine smile as she clasped her hand in his outstretched one, to which he lead her to his car. She gave him the directions to her house and then they fell into a silence.

"So, some music?" He asked as he started turning the knobs on the radio.

"Can we maybe just talk?" She stilled his hands.

"Talk? Sure I can do that."

"Thanks, I just want to forget some of the events that have happened today." She shot him a small smile.

"So tell me about yourself"

"Well, My full name is Rachel Barbara Berry. I'm 16 years old and I like long walks along the beach" She giggled at the last part of her story. "Oh I also live at home with my two dads and my mother"

"You have two dads?"

"Yeah, it's kind of a complicated relationship with them and my Mother, but what I know is that Mother wasn't around when I was younger, actually it wasn't that long ago that she came back into my life. So basically both my dads raised me and then when my mother came back, she had no where to stay or whatever so she is now living with us"

"You don't seem too fond of your mother"

"That is another story altogether. I know that I don't hate her, but I don't think I love her. If you know what I mean" She gave him a half smile as he slowly nodded at her. "Anyway enough about me, tell me something about you"

"My name is Jesse St. James. I'm 18, and I live at home with my parents, my sister and my brother."

"Lucky, I'm an only child, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have siblings. So you're a senior."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be. I'm hoping to go to university next year to study drama and music"

"Interesting, We share the same passion" They fell into silence again, though it was not awkward, it was more calming.

"So Quinn tells me you're interesting" Jesse tried at starting a conversation again.

"Quinn?"

"Oh, you don't know her? She's blonde, ...pregnant"

"Oh, Yeah, we didn't really talk about much, So I don't really know her" He started laughing out loud.

"What's so funny?"

"She told me you had your first run in with Jacob Ben Israel."

"Oh god, he is such a creep, I hope I never run into him again." She cringed at the thought of him.

"Yeah, he is a bit of a creep, I would steer clear of him, it's probably best for you" They both smiled at each other, before averting their gaze.

"Sorry for being a bit of a bitch the other day when you and the others were spying on us, It's just that the competition gets to me and it's like it brings out the worst in me. I can't help it."

"It's okay, You seem cool. Not a bitch at all" She gave him a small smile before looking out the window.

"This is my stop"

"Maybe we could do this again sometime, I mean if you want"

"How about after the next choir meeting we have? I'd prefer being in a car with you then my mother any day" Jesse smiled at her comment.

"Yeah I think I can do that"

"Can I borrow your phone for a minute" wordlessly he handed over his phone and watched as she typed in her own number and saved it.

"Text me or call me whenever you want" She gave him a wink before getting out the car and skipping towards her front door. He smiled as he looked back down at his phone and realised that she had saved her number under Berry.

/

Rachel had effortlessly made it to her room, going unnoticed by her parents. She took a few moments to look around her bright, colourful room. As she looked around, she stopped when she came across her desk and noticed a few of the items she cherished the most. A gold star statue from her first winning in a singing competition, which made her smile and a framed photo of her standing in between her two dads who were both wearing identical smiles. There was a gentle knock on the door before her mother popped her head in the doorway.

"Hey sweetie. I was wondering where you got to. I have some sheet music for you so you can practice"

"Why didn't you wait for me?"

"I thought you already left"

"I tried to phone you, but you didn't answer yet again."

"My phone must have been turned off" She shrugged before holding out the sheet music for Rachel to take. When she didn't immediately take it from her mother's hands Shelby reluctantly gave up and placed it on her bed before leaving the room. When Rachel was sure that her mother had gone she walked over to her bed and picked up the sheet music, so she could decide if the song her mother had picked was a good choice or not. The title read 'My Man', she smiled because it was one of her favourite songs from her favourite musical, Funny Girl. Rachel was unaware that her mother was still on the other side of the door hesitant as to which she should knock on the door so she could talk to Rachel, but opted out of it.

/

"So, Welcome to the first New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline official rehearsal." William Schuester beamed, he had yet to pick up on the awkward tension that was held in the room. Members of Vocal Adrenaline were sat on one side of the room and the members of New Directions were on the other side. William noticed the tension in the room as he began handing out music sheets to everyone while he carried on talking. "So I thought we could start with a little singing."

"A little? Please, nothing is little about our singing" Giselle spoke up.

"Claws away Giselle." "So how is this going to work? Do you want my students to perform first so that you know what they can do, then have your students perform, then we can see how we are going to blend in together."

"No. How about we warm up our vocal chords first then go from there." Each member began to make there way onto the stage, lining up in two rows. "If we start with the front row, then the back row can join in and that will help with working on the harmonising."

"I hope you realise Schuester that your not the only one in charge, I would like some say in the things we do."

"Well what do you suggest we do then _Corcoran._"

"I understand the whole warming up their voices, but we don't need to worry about harmonising. If they are meant to sing together then they should be able to sing a song straight away."

"Well I disagree, I think we should at least try my way"

"Fine have it your way, but I can guarantee that you will regret wasting the time when you realise I was right." Shelby held out her hand as a way of telling Will to take it away, she stood back and took a seat in the front row, watching Will's every move as he made his way up onto the stage and began instructing the students.

/

"This isn't working. Let's try something new, You with the Mohawk, pull the curtains down. Boys at the left side of the stage, girls at the right side of the stage. Rachel centre stage please. And dim the lights." Everyone got into position. "Can I have a spotlight on Rachel!" Shelby shouted as she held her hands together in anticipation. She sped over to the piano where Brad the pianist sat and pulled out music sheets from her bag before handing them over to him.

"Rachel, you know what to do" Rachel bowed her head as she waited for the music to start. Her hands stayed at her side as she began singing, lifting her head in the process.

"_Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone.  
>I hear you call my name and it feels like<br>Home"_

Everyone else began to walk out from the side of the stage, crossing each other as they met in the middle and formed two lines. They began joining Rachel in singing as she stepped back so she was in line with everyone else.

_"When you call my name, it's like a little  
>Prayer. I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there<br>In the midnight hour, I can feel your power  
>Just like a prayer, you know I'll take you there"<br>_

Everyone parted ways to the side so that Finn could step forward to sing his part.

_"I hear your voice, it's like an angel sighing"_

Finn stepped back into step with everyone else as Kurt stood on the side line, his hands held together in prayer, he began singing his part._  
>"I have no choice, I hear your voice, feels like flying"<em>

Kurt gave Mercedes a kiss on the cheek before skipping off to join the others, Mercedes stood centre stage with a smile on her face._  
>"I close my eyes, oh God, I think I'm falling<br>out of the sky. I close my eyes  
>Heaven help me."<br>_Everyone else stood forward to join her as they all began singing the chorus, swaying side to side._  
>"When you call my name, it's like a little Prayer. <em>

_I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there  
>In the midnight hour, I can feel your power<br>just like a prayer  
>You know I'll take you there."<br>_Puck pushed Finn and Chris to the side as he stepped forward to take his turn. _  
>"Like a child, you whisper softly to me"<em>

Rachel cut in belting the next part._  
>"You're In control just like a child, now I'm dancing."<em>

Jesse stepped forward and took Rachel's hand in his, she turned to him and smiled as he began singing, never taking his eyes off her. _  
>"It's like a dream, no end and no beginning.<br>You're here with me, it's like a dream"_

Jesse led Rachel away as Santana made her way to the centre and belted out the next part. Raising her hands as the curtains rose to show a small choir singing in the background._  
>"Let the choir sing."<em>

_"When you call my name, it's like a little_  
><em>Prayer. I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there<em>  
><em>In the midnight hour, I can feel your power<em>  
><em>just like a prayer<em>  
><em>You know I'll take you there.<em>

_When you call my name, it's like a little  
>Prayer. I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there<br>In the midnight hour, I can feel your power  
>just like a prayer<br>You know I'll take you there"_

_"oooh ohhh ..ohhh"_  
><em>"Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone.<em>  
><em>I hear you call my name and it feels like home."<em>

Everyone took each others hands and began jumping up and down with smiles on their faces as they carried on singing._  
>"Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there<br>Just like a muse to me , you are a mystery  
>Just like a dream, you are not what you seem<br>Just like a prayer, no choice,  
>Your voice can take me there.<em>

_Just like a prayer, I'll take you there._

_It's Like a dream to me._

_Just like a prayer, I'll take you there.  
>It's Like a dream to me.<em>

_Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone._  
><em>I hear you call my name and it feels like home.<em>

_Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there_  
><em>Just like a muse to me , you are a mystery<em>  
><em>Just like a dream, you are not what you seem<em>  
><em>Just like a prayer, no choice,<em>  
><em>Your voice can take me there"<em>  
><em>"Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there"<em>

_"Just like a dream, you are not what you seem_  
><em>Just like a prayer, no choice,<em>  
><em>Your voice can take me there."<em>

They all finished with their hands in the air, raised above their heads. Smiles plastered on their faces.

"Now that is working!" Shelby shouted as she clapped her hands vigorously, she looked at William expectantly.

"Okay, you were right. We should of done it your way first"

/

Jesse was normally the first one out of his seat when the bell rang to end glee rehearsal. But today he found himself moving at a slower pace. He slowly packed his music sheets into his bag and stood up. He'd spent most of the class listening intently to Rachel as she put in as much musical input as she could on all of the song choices Schuester had picked out. He was more focused on listening to the fluidity of her voice when she sung a song, the way she would capture all the emotion into it. It was quite captivating. Jesse was looking at her again, Rachel could feel it. She brushed her side bangs out of her eyes and looked up slowly.

"What are you staring at?" The smirk crept onto his face.

"You, what does it look like I'm staring at?" She felt her cheeks heat up.

"Weren't you ever told it's not polite to stare?"

"Yes, actually. But I'm not one for being polite. I've been told that I'm charming and very good looking, though, so I guess that makes up for it." Rachel shook her head, not realising that a smile had crept up on her face.

"cocky, too." She liked the cocky type, he wiggled his eyebrows in her direction which he gained a giggle out of her. "So can I ask why you're staring at me?" They was a pause for a few seconds before he replied.

"I don't get you"

"What's there not to get?"

"That's the thing, I'm not sure what it is about you"

"Well, When you figure it out you can get back to me" She winked at him before leaving him in the empty room.

**And there you have the next chapter, hoped you liked it, please review. Next chapter will be up shortly. **


	3. Chapter Three

_**Disclaimer – I do not own glee or the characters, If I did it would be a lot different then what it is right now. **_

_**Thank you for reading and please review.**_

_**EllaMariee. **_

_**Chapter Three.**_

_**Quote of the day:-**_

"_A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."** - Leopold Stokowski**_

The next Glee rehearsal was much less awkward. Everyone was starting to get comfortable in each other's presence and there had yet to be any more arguments. Rachel was awfully bouncy and cheery that morning, something that didn't go unnoticed by everyone else.  
>"Rachel, Where is Shelby?" Will asked as he himself bounded into the room full of students. Rachel's face fell at the mention of her mother's name, she was no longer bubbly like she was before.<br>"How should I know?"  
>"Isn't she your mother?"<br>"Doesn't mean I know where she is." She resorted as she took a seat next to Quinn and shot her a smile, Will shot a confused look in her direction before clapping his hands to draw everyone's attention to him.  
>"Well, it seems that Ms. Corcoran cannot join us today, so let's begin." He began to write down this week's task, the marker squeaked on the dry erase board causing everyone to wince.<br>"So the assignment this week is 'Confidence'. Since regionals is coming up soon I want you guys to find a song that makes you stand out, that makes you bold and then perform it in front of the class."  
>"We have assignments? I thought the whole point of us coming over here was to practice for regionals?" Chris said from his position at the back.<br>"This will help me determine everyone's strong points."  
>"No offence Mr. Schuester, but I don't think Shelby would agree with this"<br>"What wouldn't I agree with?" Speak of the devil. She moved into the room, sunglasses settled on her nose and a cup of coffee in her hand. Rachel gave her a confused look, she was acting differently lately, more unusual then normal.  
>"Schuester here wants us to do an assignment" Giselle spoke up. Shelby shrugged in her direction before moving over to the piano and taking a seat.<br>"It will be fun. So I suggest that you co-operate." was her only response.  
>"Fun. When do you ever do anything fun? It's normally all hard work with you" Rachel said to which Shelby completely ignored her comment. Members of New Directions looked at each other awkwardly, exchanging glances, but whereas Vocal Adrenaline members just waved it off.<br>"Hey Quinn Right?" She nodded at Rachel.  
>"I didn't properly introduce myself the other day, I'm Rachel Berry" She thrust her hand in front of Quinn waiting for her to take her hand.<br>"Nice to meet you" She shook her hand with a smile.  
>"So is everything okay?" She asked as she indicated to her small bump.<br>"Other then morning sickness, I'm not too bad"  
>"How far along are you?"<br>"About 32 weeks."  
>"May I?" Rachel asked as she held out her hand, signalling for her to feel the bump to which Quinn nodded with a smile. Rachel gently placed her hand on Quinn's stomach as she felt around, a smile lit up on her face as she felt a little kick against her palm.<br>"So what's up with your mother?" Quinn started in a hushed whisper.  
>"I honestly have no idea, I don't get her any more, not that I got her much to start with" Chris came marching over and slummed into the seat next to Rachel and playfully nudged her side. "What's the matter my little sex kitten?" He slung his arm over her shoulders and started playing with the tip of her hair. Quinn placed a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't let a little giggle escape from her mouth.<br>"Chris, what have I told you before, I'm not your _'Little Sex Kitten'_" She scoffed before shoving his arm off her shoulders and storming off. Quinn mouthed a _'wow'_ in his direction which he caught before she got up and followed Rachel in the direction that she had left in.  
>"Do you and Berry have history?" Puck asked when he came over with Jesse and sat next to him.<br>"He wishes" Came Jackson's voice, a member of Vocal adrenaline. "Old Chris here has been trying to score with her since the minute she joined Vocal Adrenaline, which was 3 years ago, right Chris?" He teased as he slapped the back of Chris's shoulder.  
>"Shut up, It's only a matter of time, I think she is finally cracking. It's only a matter of time before she can no longer resist my charm" He smirked as his gaze landed on the infamous Rachel.<br>"It's a wonder how she ever managed to resist you for the past 3 years." Chris ignored Jacksons' teasing and winked at Rachel when she looked in his direction, she flipped him off as a response to which, Jesse, Puck and Jackson laughed.  
>"She is totally about to crack dude" Puck said trying not to laugh while Jesse had a smirk on his face.<br>"Chris, If you keep looking at me like that I will slap you" Rachel yelled from her side of the room.  
>"Feisty, I like it" He yelled back at her with another wink. Shelby finally decided to take charge, stepping up from her place at the piano when she saw that nothing vaguely important was happening.<br>"Okay everyone, line up in front of me" Everyone quickly gathered up in front of her.  
>"William how many of your students can dance?" A few hands went up instead of Mr. Schuester replying.<br>"As you know, Vocal Adrenaline are not only known for singing, but they can also dance, because of the help of Dakota who is a brilliant choreographer, which is why I will be bringing him in nearer to the competition."  
>"You can't bring him back, he is a monster!" Andrea Cohen screamed, Everyone's focus landed on her.<br>"Andrea he is only that way because he needs to be, he is the best and the best is what we need. We are going to try something different right now. Ballet. It will help you all better with any dance styles because it strengthens your core."  
>"Ballet? I'm not comfortable with that!" Puck said from his stance.<br>"And I defiantly can't do it, I'm pregnant"  
>"Tough, You should of thought about that before you got yourself in your little situation. We're doing it and that's that. We are going to start with some stretches" Quinn gaped at her in shock. Every member of vocal adrenaline started stretching while members of New Directions stood awkwardly at the side, trying to copy them.<br>"Rachel and Chris can you please step forward, you will be the first to demonstrate some dance moves." Rachel stepped forward silently and started breathing out slowly, controlling her breathing like she had been taught many years ago in ballet practice, she pointed her feet and twisted her body in a smooth, graceful spin beautifully executing a series of perfectly controlled turns across the room towards her dance partner. She sighed mentally when she felt a tingle at the back of her neck, then run down her spine and across her stomach as Chris lifted her in a spin. Chris spun her around so that she was facing him and pulled her close to him before lifting her further into the air above him.  
>"And that Chris, is the closest you'll ever get to my body" She whispered, as he lowered her, so that he was the only one who could hear, he growled in disapproval. All the members of New Directions gave unsure looks in their direction, they had never done anything like this before.<br>"I want you all to do something like that" Shelby clapped as everyone started to pair up.  
>"Do you want to be my partner?" Rachel asked as she moved over to Jesse.<br>"What about Chris, Isn't he your dance partner?"  
>"He can let me dance with someone else for once" She smiled as he nodded at her, She turned so her back was facing him and smiled as she saw the awkward look Puck was sporting as he attempted some spins with Quinn, she refused to do any lifts as it could harm the baby. Jesse removed the jacket he was wearing and threw it to the side before drawing his attention back to the girl in front of him. Rachel decided to copy his actions and slowly removed her cardigan. She felt the warmth that the cardigan had leave her for a moment, before another set of hands brushed her sides, reaching for the edge of the cardigan as she slipped it off her shoulders, then throwing the garment to the side along with his jacket. His hands came to settle on her waist and Rachel shut her eyes as she started to point her toes tracing circles on the floor. He spun her around, copying the moves that her and Chris had performed only minutes ago, she was inside the strong circle of his arms as he slowly started to lift her into the air. He lowered her gently and let her spin out before pulling her flush against him. His eyes had been pinned on her dancing body, watching as she spun in circles, with a carefree look on her face. A faint smile touched his lips as he saw a smile of her own spread on her face.<br>'_Hi.' _She giggled at his choice of words.  
>'<em>Hi.' <em>She echoed. "You're a natural" Rachel commented on his dancing abilities. He gave her a playful bow to which she chuckled and gave him a playful shove in return.  
>"Want to try something else?" Rachel asked.<br>"Something else? Sure. You think I can handle it?" Rachel nodded before turning her back to him and placing his hands on her hips. "1, 2, 3, and lift" He lifted her a bit into the air. "Higher" He was now holding her above his head, she had her back arched backwards so she was arched over his head, her hands were placed over his. "And spin around a bit"  
>"What? I don't think I can without dropping you"<br>"I trust you" He slowly began to spin, holding her in place. Rachel slowly began to remove her hands from his as her trust in him grew stronger, she let them float out to the side as she slightly span in the circle that Jesse was creating, a smile etched it's way onto her face. She slowly began to straighten up as Jesse lowered her so he was carrying her bridal style.  
>"That was beautiful guys." Shelby commented as she burst their little bubble of lust that was slowly forming, Rachel sent a frown in her Mother's direction as Jesse set her down.<br>"Right guys, I can tell that we all need to work on our dancing skills so I would like to schedule a 2 hour dance lesson for Friday starting at 6pm sharp, anyone who is late therefore does not show their commitment to the team and are off the team, tomorrow we will be working on our vocals, I would like you all to have a number ready to perform so we can determine what needs fixing, Got it? Good, You're all dismissed." Everyone began to rise from their positions and gathered their things before exiting the auditorium.  
>"Hey Rachel! Wait up" Jesse called as he caught up to her before she left the auditorium. "We're all going to watch the football game, to support Puck and Finn and we was wondering if you wanted to come?"<br>"Sure, that's sounds fun, I really just need to get away from home right now and everything."  
>"Great" He offered her his arm, which she gladly took with a smile and led her to the football field.<p>

/

Quinn found herself for the first time watching the football game from the bleachers, it wasn't her first time at a football game, she just never experienced it like everyone else before. Being a member of the cheer-leading squad had given her the privilege of enjoying each game front and centre, But now she was the one watching on in envy as the cheerios performed without her.  
>"Hi Quinn, are those seats free?" Kurt was calling up to her as he and Mercedes pushed their way through the crowd to the available seats next to her.<br>"Sure, come on up!" she replied, grateful that she wouldn't be sitting on her own. They were shortly joined by Jesse and Rachel.  
>"Football Virgin?" Kurt questioned as Rachel sat down next to him.<br>"Excuse me?"  
>"You've never been to a football game before have you?" She shook her head no.<br>"Trust me, you haven't missed out on much, it's nothing special"  
>"Then why are you here?"<br>"Supporting my brother" The game started before their eyes, everyone's attention was drawn to the field. Puck came running onto the field and scanned the bleachers in search for Quinn, when he found her, he waved and discreetly blew a kiss in her direction to which she smiled and waved back proudly.  
>"<em>Which team do I cheer for?<em>" Rachel whispered into Jesse's ear, he let out a little chuckle, she clearly had no clue.  
>"<em>The ones with the red uniform<em>" He whispered back, she nodded in understanding. The first goal was scored and everyone around Rachel stood up in an uproar. Someone came round selling little flags with the team's name on, Jesse brought two, one for him and one for Rachel. The school team scored again, Jesse pointed out to Rachel as Puck had scored that goal, and she stood up cheering and waving her flag.  
>"This is actually really fun!" She screamed over the cheering. An hour later the buzzer went off signalling the end of the game, McKinley High won. Everyone began to mount off the bleachers and back to their cars or homes.<br>"Do you want a lift home?" Jesse asked, he currently had his arm wrapped around her shoulders in an attempt to keep her warm.  
>"Making it a habit now, are we?" She replied with a smirk.<br>"So is that a yes?"  
>"No sorry, as much as I would love for you to give me a ride home, my car is already parked in the parking lot, so I'll be driving myself home. Maybe some other time though?"<br>"Sure, I'll hold you to that"  
>"I'll see you at the next glee rehearsal" She waved him a goodbye and started walking back to her car when he also waved her a goodbye, she began rummaging through her bag for her car keys, that were at the bottom of her bag before setting off on her journey home.<p>

/

"Why are we in here and not the auditorium, it's kind of a bit small dontcha think?" Giselle said as she plopped herself down on an available seat.  
>"And what's with the emergency meeting, Do you know how long it takes for us to get here?" Chris also joined in.<br>"This is the choir room, we always practice here." Tina shot back to Giselle's comment.  
>"Guys, that's not important right now, what is important is that we are going to put on a show for the McKinley students"<br>"That's not exactly fair, we don't even go to school here" Alma Bigall piped in, a freshman member of vocal adrenaline.

"Yes, but we're a team, so therefore we are all going to do it"

"Don't worry I've cleared it with the school, you get half the day off" Shelby added.

"Why are we putting on a show just weeks before we have to compete at regionals?" Chris questioned.

"Well, Mr. Figgins wants to put on a homecoming assembly and has asked us to perform. I took up the opportunity and couldn't say no."

"So you didn't bother to check with us if we even wanted to do it in the first place."

"Well I thought you would want to just jump at the chance"

"I think it is a brilliant idea and seeing as this club pays a lot of tribute to pop culture we should do Britney Spears numbers seeing as she _**is**_ pop culture."

"That is actually a very good idea Kurt, I already have a song in mind for my part." Rachel agreed.

"Great so it's decided, we're doing Britney. You can do solos if you want but I also want a whole group number at the end, If you don't want to do solos you can do duets, But I wouldn't mind having everyone at least take part."  
>"Mr Schu? Before we move on I was wondering if I could sing my assignment song?" Mercedes asked as she stood from her seat and worked her way towards the front of the room.<p>

"So the assignment theme was confidence and I have picked the perfect song that shows confidence, especially for us girls." The beat of the drum began to play.

"_Girls, we run this motha ("yeah!" The girls of New Directions piped in)  
>("GIRLS!" Rachel and Giselle sang)<em>

_Who run the world? Girls!_  
><em>Who run this motha? Girls!<em>  
><em>Who run the world? Girls!<em>

_Some of them men think they freak this like we do_  
><em>But no they don't<em>  
><em>Make your cheques come at they neck,<em>  
><em>Disrespect us no they won't<em>

_Boy don't even try to touch this_  
><em>Boy this beat is crazy<em>  
><em>This is how they made me<em>  
><em>Houston, Texas baby<em>  
><em>This goes out to all my girls<em>  
><em>That's in the club rocking the latest<em>  
><em>Who will buy it for themselves and get more money later<em>

_I think I need a barber_  
><em>None of these ** can fade me<em>  
><em>I'm so good with this,<em>  
><em>I remind you I'm so hood with this<em>

_Boy I'm just playing, come here baby_  
><em>Hope you still like me, ** pay me<em>  
><em>My persuasion can build a nation<em>  
><em>Endless power, our love we can devour<em>  
><em>You'll do anything for me<em>

_Who run the world? Girls!_  
><em>Who run this motha? Girls!<em>  
><em>Who run the world? Girls!<em>

_It's hot up in here_  
><em>DJ don't be scared to run this, run this back<em>  
><em>I'm repping for the girls who taking over the world<em>  
><em>Have me raise a glass for the college grads<em>

_Anyone rolling I'll let you know what time it is_  
><em>You can't hold me<em>  
><em>I broke my 9 to 5 and copped my cheque<em>

_This goes out to all the women getting it in,_  
><em>Get on your grind<em>  
><em>To the other men that respect what I do<em>  
><em>Please accept my shine<em>

_Boy you know you love it_  
><em>How we're smart enough to make these millions<em>  
><em>Strong enough to bare the children<em>  
><em>Then get back to business<em>  
><em>See, you better not play me<em>  
><em>Don't come here baby<em>  
><em>Hope you still like me<em>  
><em>** pay me!"<em>

Rachel and Giselle stood up and began to dance. 

_"My persuasion can build a nation_  
><em>Endless power<em>  
><em>Our love we can devour<em>  
><em>You'll do anything for me<em>

_Who run the world? Girls!_  
><em>Who run this motha? Girls!<em>  
><em>Who run the world? Girls!<em>

_Who are we?_  
><em>What we run?<em>  
><em>The world!<em>

_Who run this motha?_

_Who are we?_  
><em>What we run?<em>  
><em>The world!<em>

_Who run this motha?_

_Who are we?_  
><em>What do we run?<em>  
><em>We run the world!<em>

_Who run this motha?_

_Who are we?_  
><em>What we run?<em>  
><em>We run the world!<em>

_Who run the world? Girls!"_

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" William stood up clapping with a wide grin on his face.

**Done. Hope it was good enough, I try my best. Please review, love writing this story. I know it's not as long as the other chapters, but my next chapter will be the longest one so far. **


	4. Chapter Four

_**Disclaimer – I do not own glee or the characters, If I did it would be a lot different then what it is right now. **_

_**Thank you for reading and please review.**_

_**EllaMariee. **_

_**Chapter Four.**_

_** Quote of the day:-**_

"_Music in the soul can be heard by the universe."** - Lao Tzu**_

Every student of William McKinley High was situated in the gym all focusing on the makeshift stage in the middle of the room. All the members of the glee club had the pleasure of sitting on the floor in front of the stage so that they was ready to run up onto the stage when it was their turn to perform. William Schuester made his way to the middle of the stage and tapped the microphone a couple of times to get the attention of the McKinley population.

"Welcome, and thank you for coming today, so let's kick it off with our first act. Please welcome to the stage Rachel Berry." He started to clap along with everyone else then moved the microphone to the side and joined his team on the floor. The lights dimmed down and the curtains slowly started to draw. The spotlight beamed down on Rachel and the desk she was sitting at, lightly tapping her foot against the leg of the table with a bored expression on her face. She caught Jesse's eye right away. It took everything in him to keep his jaw from dropping like every other guy in the school, she was wearing the same school girl costume that Britney Spears wore in the music video for 'Hit me baby one more time' Jesse groaned as he caught sight of Rachel.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I love Britney Spears." He mumbled causing Quinn to turn her head to face him to see his expression. A ticking sound started playing in the background and she began tapping her pen against the desk rapidly. A bell rang out as she got up from her desk and started singing.

"_Oh baby, baby_

Someone came on stage to remove the desk, while two other female dancers joined Rachel in her hip swinging motion.

_Oh baby, baby  
>Oh baby, baby<em>

Two guys then joined her as the girls moved to the side and picked up some text books, continuing a dance at the sidelines.

_How was I supposed to know  
>That something wasn't <em>_right here  
>Oh <em>_baby baby  
>I shouldn't have let you go<br>And now you're out of sight, yeah  
>Show me, how you want <em>_it to be  
><em>_Tell me baby_

She shimmied forward as the dancing became more intense.

_'Cause I need to know now what we've got_

_My loneliness is killing me  
>I must confess, I still believe<br>When I'm not with you I lose my mind  
>Give me a sign<br>Hit me baby one more time_

_Oh baby, baby  
>The reason I breathe is you<br>Boy you got me blinded  
>Oh baby, baby<br>There's nothing that I wouldn't do  
>That's not the way I planned it<br>Show me, how you want it to be  
>Tell me baby<br>'Cause I need to know now what we've got_

The music started to slow down as the dancers moved off and the spotlight landed on a boy who was a bit further away from Rachel, with a basketball in hand, she slowly started moving towards him as he seemed oblivious to her presence.

_Oh baby, baby  
>Oh baby, baby<br>Ah, yeah, yeah  
>Oh baby, baby<br>How was I supposed to know  
>Oh pretty baby<br>I shouldn't have let you go  
>I must confess, that my loneliness<br>Is killing me now  
>Don't you know I still believe<br>That you will be here  
>And give me a sign<br>Hit me baby one more time_

_I must confess that my loneliness  
>Is killing me now<br>Don't you know I still believe  
>That you will be here<br>And give me a sign  
>Hit me baby one more time"<em>

"Oh Baby you can hit me as many times as you want." Jacob Ben Israel yelled loudly. An uproar of cheering then echoed his comment.

"I'm going to ignore that comment, Thank you" Rachel quickly blew a kiss to the audience before running behind the curtains.

"As much as I don't want to, I agree completely with him." Jesse's comment resulted in Quinn giving him yet another look.

"You're such a guy"

"What? She's hot. You can't deny that you wasn't even the tiniest bit turned on by that."

She groaned at the sight of his smirk and smacked his arm before replying.

"No, I wasn't, I'm not interested in girls."

"You don't necessarily have to be interested in girls to be turned on by that"

"And I repeat, You're such a guy." Quinn quickly nudge him as she spotted Rachel coming towards them.

"Hey guys" She cheered as she sat down on the left of Jesse.

"One word. Amazing" He smiled at her as he let his gaze travel down her body, glancing at the exposed skin of her stomach and thighs.

"Thanks" She giggled, catching his actions. "Eyes up here" She motioned to her eyes, Jesse's face lit up to a light shade of red when he realised he had been caught.

"Any idea who is up next?" Quinn questioned.

"I have a feeling it's Brittany and Santana" Rachel replied as she pointed at the two mentioned teens when she noticed them get up from their spot not that far away from them, William also getting up from his spot to introduce them.

"What a great way to start a show. So next up we have Brittany Pierce and Santana Lopez" The lights slowly began to dim down. Brittany made her way from the top of the steps to the bottom as the music began, on the other side of the stage Santana stood with a stick in hand.

"_All my people in the crowd  
>Grab a partner take it down!<em>

_It's me against the music  
>Uh uh<br>It's just me  
>And me<br>Yeah  
>C'mon<br>Hey Britney?  
>Are you ready?<br>Uh uh, are you?"_

Brittany made her way to the middle of the dance floor as a group of dancers joined her on stage the began dancing in sync as Brittany began singing again.

"_No one cares  
>It's whippin'my hair, it's pullin' my waist<br>To hell with stares  
>The sweat is drippin' all over my face<br>No one's there  
>I'm the only one dancin' up in this place<br>Tonight I'm here  
>Feel the beat of the drum, gotta keep it that bass<br>I'm up against the speaker, tryin' to take on the music  
>It's like a competition, me against the beat<br>I wanna get in the zone, I wanna get in the zone  
>If you really wanna battle, saddle up and get your rhythm<br>Tryin' to hit it, you could die  
>In a minute I'm a take a you on, I'm a take a you on<br>Hey, hey, hey"_

Santana joined Brittany in the middle of the dance floor and challenged her to a dance off which Brittany gladly accepted.

"_All my people on the floor  
>Let me see you dance<br>Let me see ya  
>All my people wantin' more<br>Let me see you dance  
>I wanna see ya<br>All my people round and round  
>Let me see you dance<br>Let me see ya  
>All my people in the crowd<br>Let me see you dance  
>I wanna see ya<br>So how would you like a friendly competition  
>Let's take on the song<br>It's you and me baby, we're the music  
>Time to party all night long<em>

_We're almost there  
>I'm feelin' it bad and I can't explain<br>My soul is bare  
>My hips are movin' at a rapid pace<br>Baby feel it burn  
>From the tip of my toes, runnin' through my veins<br>And now it's your turn  
>Let me see what you got, don't hesitate<br>I'm up against the speaker, tryin' to take on the music  
>It's like a competition, me against the beat<br>I wanna get in the zone, I wanna get in the zone  
>If you really wanna battle, saddle up and get your rhythm<br>Tryin' to hit it, you could die  
>In a minute I'm a take a you on, I'm a take a you on<br>Hey, hey, hey_

_Get on the floor, baby lose control  
>Just work your body and let it go<br>If you wanna party, just grab somebody  
>Hey Britney<br>We can dance all night long_

_Hey Britney, you say you wanna lose control  
>Come over here I got somethin' to show ya<br>Sexy lady, I'd rather see you bare your soul  
>If you think you're so hot, better show me what you got<br>All my people in the crowd, let me see you dance  
>C'mon Britney lose control, watch you take it down<em>

_Get on the floor, baby lose control  
>Just work your body and let it go<br>If you wanna party, just grab somebody  
>Hey Britney<br>We can dance all night long_

_All my people in the crowd, let me see you dance  
>C'mon Britney take it down, make the music dance<br>All my people round and round, party all night long  
>C'mon Britney lose control, watch you take it down"<em>

The Music died down as each student in the gym raised to their feet and began cheering wildly.

"That's was great wasn't it!" William cheered into the microphone as he made his way on stage. "Thank you Santana and Brittany, We do actually have another performance from Brittany later" William announced as he looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. "So while she is having a quick costume change how about our next performance. None other than Artie Abrams." Artie was situated in the middle of the makeshift stage, he was looking around him at all the students before him. He quickly shook his head before beginning the song.

"_Ooh hey, yeah"_

He began wheeling around on stage, the two front wheels began to flash multicolours.

"_Hush, just stop  
>There's nothing you can do or say, baby<br>I've had enough  
>I'm not your property as from today, baby<br>You might think that I won't make it on my own  
>But now I'm<em>

_Stronger than yesterday  
>Now its nothing but my way<br>My loneliness ain't killing me no more  
>I'm stronger<em>

_That I ever thought that I could be, baby  
>I used to go with the flow<br>Didn't really care bout me  
>You might think that I cant take it, but you're wrong<br>Cause now I'm Stronger than yesterday  
>Now its nothing but my way<br>My loneliness ain't killing me no more  
>I'm stronger<em>

_Come on, now  
>Oh, yeah<em>

_Here I go, on my own  
>I don't need nobody, better off alone<br>Here I go, on my own now  
>I don't need nobody, not anybody<br>Here I go, alright, here I go_

_Stronger than yesterday  
>Now its nothing but my way<br>My loneliness ain't killing me no more  
>I'm stronger"<em>

"Amazing! Well done Artie. Simply amazing." William said into the microphone when the song had finished and everyone burst into more cheers. "Oh boy, we have a bit of a surprise for you now. Give it up for Brittany Pierce" The curtain began to raise and there stood Brittany carrying a huge snake on her shoulders, holding it's tail in one hand and it's head in the other hand, a few student gasped in shock and someone yelled 'Awesome!'.

"_I know I may be young  
>But I've got feelings, too<br>And I need to do what I feel like doing  
>So let me go and just listen<em>

_All you people look at me like I'm a little girl  
>Well, did you ever think it'd be okay for me to step into this world?<br>Always saying; little girl don't step into the club  
>Well, I'm just trying to find out why 'cause dancin's what I love yeah<br>now watch me_

_Get it, get it, whooa  
>Get it, get it, whoooa, do you like it?<br>Get it, get it, whoa, it feels good"_

She started body popping and thrusting into dance moves while still carrying the snake.

"_I know I may come off quiet, may come off shy  
>But I feel like talking, feel like dancing when I see this guy<br>What's practical is logical, what the hell who cares?  
>All I know is I'm so happy when you dancing there-ere<em>

_I'm a slave for you  
>I cannot hold it, I cannot control it<br>I'm a slave for you  
>I won't deny hide it, I'm not trying to hide it<em>

_Baby, don't you wanna, dance upon me,  
>I just wanna dance next to you<br>To another time and place?  
>Oh Baby, don't you wanna, dance upon me?<br>Are you ready?  
>Leaving behind my name, my age.<em>

_Like that  
>Oh Yeah, yeah<br>now watch me_

_Get it get it Whooa  
>Get it get it Whoooa<br>Get it get it _**[Panting] **_This feels good_

_I really wanna dance, tonight with you.  
>I just can't help myself<br>I really wanna do what you want me to.  
>I just feel I let myself go<em>

_I really wanna dance, tonight with you.  
>Wanna see you move<br>I really wanna do what you want me to.  
>Uh Uh Uh<em>

_Baby, don't you wanna, dance upon me,  
>I just wanna dance next to you<br>To another time and place?  
>Oh Baby, don't you wanna, dance upon me?<br>Are you ready?  
>Leaving behind my name,and my age."<em>

She passed the snake to someone else as she began a vigorous dance session.

"_I'm a slave for you. Take that, I cannot hold it; I cannot control it.  
>I'm a slave It just feels right for you. It feels good<br>I won't deny it; I'm not trying to hide it. Baby_

_Get it get it WHOOOA  
>Get it get it WHOOOOOA<br>Get it get it OOOHHHH  
><em>**[Panting]**

_Get it get it WHOOA  
>Get it get it WHOOOA<br>Get it get it OOOHHHH  
><em>**[Panting]**

_I'm a slave for you. Here we go now  
>I cannot hold it; I cannot control it.<br>I'm a slave for you. Here we go, I won't deny, Yeah  
>I'm not trying to hide it.<em>

_Like that"_

During Brittany's performance the rest of the members of the glee club made their way backstage to grab their costumes before racing off to the locker rooms to change.

"Where did she get that snake from?" Quinn questioned to no one in particular as she began changing into her costume. Rachel turned to her with an equally shocked expression plastered on her face and shrugged.

"God, I hate being pregnant, Nothing looks good on me" She whined as she tried to close the blazer shut over her bulging stomach.

"You look radiant Quinn, so stop complaining" Tina commented on her appearance.

"Don't worry about closing your blazer it looks fine open" Rachel said as she made her way to the door with Alma following, ready to perform.

"Wasn't that just.. Great" Miss. Pillsbury said into the microphone as she made her way onto the stage to announce the next performance. "Now up next I give you, New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline accompanied by William Schuester." A few strums of a guitar played it's way into the gym as the curtains once again rose for the last time. All the members began to spin onto the stage in a line as Brittany made her way centre stage holding onto her hat and spinning it above her head.

"_Baby, can't you see  
>I'm calling<br>A guy like you should wear a warning_

_It's dangerous  
>I'm falling<em>

_There's no escape  
>I can't wait<br>I need a hit  
>Baby, give me it"<br>"You're dangerous  
>I'm loving it"<em>

Rachel joined in as they made their way over to Jesse and ran their hands down his body.

"I love Britney Spears!" Jacob Ben Israel shouted as he watched them dance around stage exotically. William Schuester was back to back against Brittany now as he began singing his part.

"_Too high  
>Can't come down<br>Losin' my head  
>Spinnin' 'round and 'round<br>Do you feel me now?"_

All the members now began joining in on the chorus. They began dancing using their hats as props.

"_With the taste of your lips I'm on a ride  
>You're toxic I'm slippin' under<br>With the taste of the poison paradise  
>I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're toxic?<br>And I love what you do, don't you know that you're toxic?"_

"_It's gettin' late  
>To give you up"<em>

Rachel and Brittany were now back to back, as they bent over, William made his presence behind them as he joined them in singing._  
>"I took a sip<br>From my devil's cup  
>Slowly, it's taking over me<em>

_Too high  
>Can't come down<br>loosing my head spinning round and round  
>Do you feel it now?"<em>

All the members of the club lined up, William threw his hat from one end while Mike Chang caught it from the other end.

"_With the taste of your lips I'm on a ride  
>You're toxic I'm slippin' under<br>With the taste of the poison paradise  
>I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're toxic?<br>And I love what you do, don't you know that you're toxic?  
>I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're toxic?<em>

_Intoxicate me now  
>With your lovin' now<br>I think I'm ready now  
>I think I'm ready now<br>Intoxicate me now  
>With your lovin' now<br>I think I'm ready now  
>I think I'm ready now<br>I think I'm ready now_

_Your toxic love, slipping under"_

Somehow in the middle of the song, fighting had broken out and it spread like a wild fire across the room, everyone just copying each other, punching and kicking who ever they could.

"It's a Britney Spears sex riot" Sue Sylvester said, she turned to her right and spotted the fire alarm, she rushed over to it and set it off, letting a loud booming ringing noise to erupt into the room and setting off the sprinklers. Everyone stopped their actions and raced towards the fire exits. The glee members looked on in shock as they watched everyone rush out.

"That went well"

"This is a joke" Giselle said as she threw her hat on the floor and walked back stage, everyone else followed her towards the changing rooms also a little bit disappointed.

/

"So I know that it didn't go the way we wanted it to yesterday, but the way I see it, we can't be the best any more, we need to be better."

"I am not going through what we went through yesterday again, It was humiliating." Giselle whined from her chair at the back of the room.

"How about we just work on getting ready for regionals now?" Puck interjected.

"I have the perfect song for regionals!" Kurt said as he raced towards the front of the classroom and began scribbling the title of the song on the whiteboard. As he moved out the way to reveal the song choice everyone began cheering and nodding their head in agreement.

"So it's settled we have a song for regionals"

**Watching a bit of glee for some inspiration. You have no idea how hard this chapter was to write. I have so many ideas that I want to incorporate but it's just making it fit in that I have trouble with. **_Also _**_AN_**_ : I will be adding a chapter to the end of this story once it is finished stating the track list and also I will add the best and most meaningful reviews to it, to show my appreciation._** Just to let you know, if you're still reading, you're going to love the next chapter. Hopefully. Please review and carry on reading. Much Love. **


	5. Chapter Five

_**Disclaimer – I do not own glee or the characters, If I did it would be a lot different then what it is right now. **_

_**Thank you for reading and please review. Follow me on twitter for further updates Twitter/EternalIcons **_

_**EllaMariee. **_

_**Chapter Five.**_

_**Quote of the day:-**_

"_Music is the shorthand of emotion."** - Leo Tolstoy.**_

Blaine, looking down at his notes that he had copied down from French class was broken from his concentration, he looked up, startled at the fact that someone was knocking at his dorm at this late of the night.

"Blaine," hissed the person behind the door, Blaine immediately rolled his eyes, recognising who the voice belonged to. "I need to talk to you!"

"Can't this wait until morning, I still have tons of work to do before I go to bed." Blaine blinked. He didn't hear another word from the other side of the door and assumed that Wes had disappeared. He looked back down at his notes, before resting his head in his hands and sighing loudly. He was under a lot of stress lately, what with having to lead the Warblers to victory on his own at regionals and catching up with all his school work. He turned to his laptop and searched through his play list to find a song that could help him drift off to sleep.

/

Rachel emptied the contents of her bag onto her bed, attempting to locate her buzzing phone, alerting her of an incoming text message. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she glanced down at her phone not recognising the number displayed. She opened it up and a smile instantly spread across her face.

_Fancy coming out front, I have a surprise for you - J_

She moved over to her window and shifted her curtains to the side slightly to catch a glance of Jesse's car parked out front with Jesse leaning on the side of it, phone in hand, looking at her front door. She typed out a quickly reply before grabbing her keys and coat from her desk and racing out of the door, yelling a quick goodbye to her parents.

"Stalking me now are you?"

"Don't flatter yourself" Jesse teased back.

"So what's this surprise you have for me then?"

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, so I'm going to show you instead, follow me" He gave her a charming smile while opening his car door for her, she gladly accepted his open offer as she stepped into his car.

"So I don't even get a clue as to where you're taking me?" She asked once Jesse was in the car himself.

"Where'd the fun be if I told you?"

From the outside, the building failed to impress. Located on the edge of Ohio, it didn't give too much away as to what was inside.

"You know this is creepy, bringing me somewhere I don't know, I mean it looks abandoned."

"Hush will you, You're ruining it" He parked up his car and cut off the engine. Jesse stepped out of his car and made his way over to Rachel's side opening the door and taking her hand, Jesse led the way inside. The room was spacious, with the lights dimmed down. There was a stage situated at the back of the room where a single microphone stood lonesome in the middle, and a table set up just in front of it covered with a white cloth and two lit candles, surrounded by a few rose petals.

"Oh, this is so beautiful"

"I'm glad you agree, it's all for you" Rachel smiled at Jesse before giving him a kiss on the cheek and making her way over to the table.

"Jesse, is this a date?"

"I was hoping it could be"

"I would love it to be one" Rachel's face quickly dropped as something dawned on her.

"What's wrong?"

"Jesse, you've gone to all this hard work and look what I'm wearing, it's not exactly meeting the standard of this date" She was right, he had to admit as they both looked down at her attire. She was wearing a baby blue tank top with a woolly cardigan over it, black skinny jeans and a pair of black uggs.

"I don't care what you wear. You're beautiful just the same" Rachel blushed at his compliment. "To be honest, I think this is the most down to earth I've ever seen you dress" He pulled out her chair for her to sit in then tucked her in, he grabbed a bottle and examined it carefully before addressing her.

"Would you like some sparkling apple juice?" She nodded her head in agreement then he poured her a glass and also himself one before walking over to his side and taking a seat himself.

"I have gone to the liberty of cooking us some food if you don't mind and don't worry it's vegan" He added as he saw her about to cut in.

"This is amazing Jesse. So tell me about this place" She asked as she let her eyes linger around the room.

"Well, it's my uncle's place. He just brought it recently and is currently doing it up so he can turn it into a karaoke bar. I asked if I could borrow it for the night because I had something special in mind and he agreed to it"

"Well that was awfully nice of him"

"I'm just going to check on the food, it should be ready now" Five minutes later Jesse returned with two plates of food, Rachel was no longer sitting in her seat but now she was standing on the stage running her fingers over the piano with a smile on her face. Jesse cleared his throat to gain her attention.

"Food is ready" She bounded her way off stage and back to the table where Jesse placed her food.

"It looks delicious"

"That was beautiful, how did you know how to cook like that?"

"Just a gift I guess"

"Well you can cook for me whenever you want then"

"I'm going to keep you to that" Rachel pursed her lips, deep in thought.

"Would I be able to sing a song up there?" Rachel asked as she got up from her chair and walked up the steps slowly, watching Jesse's eyes.

"Depends what you had in mind." Jesse watched as she bit the corner of her lip, probably racking her brain. After a moment she took a step closer to him.

"I could sing 1 + 1?" She offered. Jesse was almost sure he could feel her breath on his face. That's how close she had gotten. She smelt like vanilla and strawberries. The vanilla was alluring almost tempting and delicious. God-fucking-_damnit_. Rachel was teasing the hell out of him without even trying to. Or maybe she _was_ trying to. He swallowed the lump in his throat, he simply nodded in agreement as she walked back up the steps towards the microphone, there was no music so she would have to sing it acoustically, not that he didn't mind. She held the microphone as she began singing.

_"If I aint got nothing, I got you  
>If I aint got something I don't give a damn, cause I got it with you<br>I don't know much about algebra, but I know one plus one equals two  
>And it's me and you, thats all we'll have when the world is thru<em>

_Cause baby we aint got nothing without love_  
><em>Darling you got enough for the both of us<em>  
><em>So come on baby, make love to me<em>

_When my days look low, pull me in close and don't let me go._  
><em>Make love to me. So that when the worlds at war, that our love heal us all<em>  
><em>Right now baby make love to me...me...me...mee...mee. ooh ooh make love to me.<em>

_Hey! I don't know much about guns but I...I've been shot by you_  
><em>Hey! And I don't know when I'm gon die, but I hope that I'm gon die by you<em>  
><em>Hey! And I don't know much about fighting, but I, I know I will fight for you<em>  
><em>Hey! Just when I ball up my fist I realize that I'm laying right next to you<em>

_Baby we aint nothing but love, and darling you got enough for the both of us_  
><em>Make love to me...when my days look low, pull me in close and don't let me go.<em>  
><em>Make love to me...so that when the worlds at war, that our love heal us all<em>  
><em>Help me let down my guard, make love to me…me..me….me..meee ooh ooh ooh make love to me...me...me...mee...mee."<em>

It was love at first note. Wait, _love_? Jesse blinked, amazed with himself, he wasn't sure if it was love or lust because he had never been more turned on then he had been right now. Rachel gave a quick bow as Jesse began clapping wildly, she made her way back down the stairs and towards him now standing in front of her, she leaned forward, Jesse was so preoccupied watching her lips that he didn't notice her hand reach towards to pull him up from his chair so that he was standing up tall in front of her. She leaned forward ever so slightly and softly planted her lips upon his, he responded almost immediately, deepening the kiss, she was the one to pull back with a beaming smile on her face, she took a step backwards and just as she did her phone started buzzing from her cardigan pocket, she quickly pulled it out of her coat pocket to see it was a text message from her father telling her it was late and she should come home.

"Thank you for tonight it was amazing, _you're amazing._" She breathed out as she gave him another peck on the lips to show her appreciation. "Would you be able to give me a lift home now please, my father is expecting me home" He nodded his head as he watched her skip out of the building towards his car. Jesse let out a huff of disbelief. He was defiantly in love. Girls did not normal seduce Jesse , He was the one that would seduce them, Miss. Rachel Berry was the first and probably the last.

/

Jesse walked into school that day in a gleeful mood, after last night nothing was going to bring him down. Glee club rehearsal was scheduled for this morning and he knew that Rachel would be there because she had told him last night during their lengthy texting session that happened after he dropped her off. He walked in and noticed Chris eyeing up Rachel from one corner of the room. He walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, casually letting his hand move from her waist to come to rest on her bottom to show Chris that Rachel was no longer on the market for him to be eyeing. The intimacy of the gesture did not go amiss by any of the other members. They gaped at the two, who were clearly far more than friends.

"When did that happen?" Mercedes asked to no one in particular, Kurt shrugged his shoulders in response. Everyone began taking their seats and waited for their Coaches to appear.

"What's up guys?" William asked as he walked into the classroom and noticed a few members missing.

"We have some news" Finn announced as him, puck, Artie and Mike made their way into the classroom and stood at the front of the choir room.

"A lot of you might not like the outcome"

"A few members have dropped out of the football team" Finn said as he looked down.

"And we won't like this because?" Giselle asked with an attitude.

"We cannot compete in glee club if we cannot play football and because there are now not enough members on the football team to actually play we are going to have to quit glee club" Finn stated.

"No, you can't! We won't stand a chance at regionals if half our team is missing." Tina protested.

"I don't exactly count 3 people half the team, we could manage without them" Giselle spoke up yet again.

"I have an idea, What if we join the football team, so that we can win this one game and then we could easily quit straight after" Rachel seemed proud of her idea that she had masterfully thought up.

"Who do you mean we?" Finn questioned from his spot in the hallway.

"Me, Tina, Mercedes and Andrea. Look I know it isn't exactly the best team, but you need 4 more people to be able to play and we are the other members, we're all you've got"

"Rachel have you ever seen a tackle football game? When they tackle it hurts."

"I don't care. They're our team, our friends, we need to help them in their time of need. I mean they don't really need us to win, so I was just thinking what if we lay on the ground while the guys play?" Jesse smiled at her courage when he caught William Schuester's shocked face.

"You consider us your friends?" Rachel ignored her question as she look on at Puck waiting for an answer.

"Well I guess it is possible" Puck looked to Finn with an equally shocked face.

/

"Here is your body suit" Finn said as he placed it on her, then turned back to the ground to look for her helmet. "And your helmet" He placed it on her head carefully before standing back to examine her.

"Oh, wow, this helmet is starting to hurt already" She commented as she placed her hand on the helmet to adjust it a bit.

"Now that's what I call a girl in a uniform" Chris commented from the side of the football field. "Instant hard on" Rachel gave him a glare through her helmet before turning back to the football team.

"Okay what do I do?" Rachel placed her hands on her hips as best as she could, Puck immediately slapped his head in frustration and the other team members groaned.

"You sure you'll be able to do this?" Finn questioned.

"Yeah how hard can it be"

"If you're sure. Okay guys lets huddle!" He shouted the last part to the remainder of his team mates who all came running over and started to huddle in a circle. They started chanting words of encouragement before Coach Beiste blew her whistle. Puck grabbed Rachel by the front of her helmet and pulled her close.

"You really ready for this?" He questioned with concern.

"Let's kick some ass!" She yelled in enthusiasm. The referee blew the whistle to begin the game. Each member got in line and perched forward. The game began.

"I'm going to die!" Rachel screamed as she threw herself on the ground to get out of the way of the opposing team that came charging towards her.

It was nearing the end of the game and McKinley High was currently falling behind. They all began to line up for what could be the last time, once again the girls threw themselves onto the ground to get out of the way. The ball went flying off the side as each opposing team member began to tackle each other. The ball landed with a thud a few centimetres from where the girls laid still on the ground. Coach Beiste was yelling at someone to get the ball but no one seemed to listen, Rachel looked to her side and spotted the ball, she had to make a quick decision, stay on the ground or get the ball. She choose the latter. She pushed herself off the ground and raced for the ball, once she had it firmly in her hands she raced towards the end of the field. She managed to dodge many other team members. Her team members stayed down the other end of the field as they watched on in shock, and began cheering as she got closer to scoring.

"Go, Go, Go!" Rachel let out a yelp as she was tackled to the ground by a big bulky football player, crushing her as he fell on her. Puck and Finn raced from the other end of the field towards her, while Jesse raced from the bleachers down onto the field. Puck reached her first, pulling the fallen football player off her then turning her on her back, he slowly removed her helmet making sure he didn't hurt her any more then she already was.

"Are you okay?" She didn't reply at first.

"Say something Rachel"

"Did I win?" She whispered as she peered through her eyelids, Puck's face broke out into a grin and he repeated kissed her forehead over and over again.

"You won us the game Rachel!" Puck yelled as he helped her up onto her feet. Jesse came racing across the field towards her.

"Are you alright, nothing broken?" He asked as he frantically examined her.

"I'm fine really" She replied as she stilled his hands and then placed her own hands on either side of his face. She leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss.

/

It was their second rehearsal of the day and this time it was Shelby that was coaching it. They had been practising dance moves that they could possibly use for regionals and had been for the past hour. Everyone was growing tired as each second passed, they hadn't had a single break since they started and were becoming fed up.

"I'm pretty sure that I'm not meant to be doing this in my condition." Quinn spoke up.

"Shelby can we stop now, My legs are killing me."

"I think I might throw up" Andrea said from her position in the room, she was keeled over with her hands on her knees and stomach.

"We can't stop!" Rachel snapped, she had been on edge for the better half of the day for some reason which none of the other members knew about. "Do you know what happens if someone from Vocal Adrenaline dies during a performance, we use them as props, right Mama?" Looking in Shelby's direction for support.

"Rachel, what have I told you before? Okay guys that's it for now, you get an hour break to get some food and water or whatever"

"Unbelievable" Rachel had finally snapped.

"Excuse me?" Shelby was now focused on Rachel, the one time that Rachel didn't want her attention.

"Did I fucking stutter? It's so like you" Rachel was now fuming.

"I have no idea what you're talking about"

"Yes you do! Do you have some kind of problem with me? I mean I knew you was a malicious Bitch, but honestly? Thanks for everything, _Shelby_" Drawling out the last word like venom. Everyone had now fell silent, curious as to where this fight was going, not even William Schuester wanted to get in between this Mother-Daughter feud.

"Rachel, How dare you! You have no right to talk to me like that."

"Like what? Like Shit. Because that's what you've been treating me like ever since I joined Vocal Adrenaline, and I'm fed up of it. Do you know how horrible it feels to know that your own mother neglects you." Rachel yelled out in frustration as she clawed at her hair, tears forming in her eyes.

"I don't neglect you" Rachel pointed at her with a bitter look.

"You only want to know me when we're at home, and that's hardly ever"

"Rachel, let's not do this now" Shelby's voice was raising slowly as she gave Rachel a forceful look.

"Forget it, You don't want to talk it out now, you don't ever want to talk it out, I've had enough."

"Rachel get back here!" Shelby screamed as Rachel started making her way out of the room, Rachel completely ignored her as her breathing became uncontrolled and her sobs echoed in the room.

"That was intense" Puck muttered as everyone tried to progress what just happened.

"Get out!" "Now!" Shelby barked when no one made a step to move. Everyone began to race off stage and out of the back door. Shelby sunk down in her seat and buried her face in her hands as tears slowly trickled down her face. Rachel stood on the other side of the door, letting her sobs take over her. William wordlessly sat down beside Shelby and place a hand on her shoulder, looking straight ahead.

"_When you try your best but you don't succeed  
>When you get what you want but not what you need<br>When you feel so tired but you can't sleep  
>Stuck in reverse" <em>

_"And the tears come streaming down your face  
>When you lose something you can't replace<br>When you love someone but it goes to waste  
>Could it be worse? <em>

_Lights will guide you home  
>And ignite your bones<br>And I will try to fix you" _

Jesse saw her crumbled form against the door, he decided to sink down next to Rachel, wrapping his arms around her as he sung the next part directly into her ear, moving her hair out of her face and watching as the tears tumbled out of her eyes. _  
>"And high up above or down below<br>When you're too in love to let it go  
>But if you never try you'll never know<br>Just what you're worth _

_Lights will guide you home  
>And ignite your bones<br>And I will try to fix you _

_Tears stream down your face  
>When you lose something you cannot replace<br>Tears stream down your face  
>And I <em>

_Tears stream down your face  
>I promise you I will learn from my mistakes<br>Tears stream down your face  
>And I" <em>

Both William and Jesse sung the next part together. _  
>"Lights will guide you home<br>And ignite your bones  
>And I will try to fix you"<em>

William stood up and left the room, leaving Shelby deep in thought, while Jesse kissed Rachel's shoulder before getting up and walking down the hallway, he gave her a quick glance before walking out the door.

/

Neither Rachel or Shelby had returned to school for the rest of the day and everyone assumed that they had gone home to resolve things. But they hadn't and it wasn't till today that it would be resolved.

"At the risk of breaking the tension that has been set, I have written a song that I would like to express, it means a lot to me and I hope that the message in it gets across" Rachel cleared her throat as she made her way to the stage and walked over to the microphone stand that was centred in the middle. She gave Shelby a look before she started singing.

"_What have I done? I wish I could run  
>Away from this ship goin' under<br>Just tryin' to help, hurt everyone else  
>Now I feel the weight of the world is<br>On my shoulders  
>What can you do when your good isn't good enough?<br>When all that you touch tumbles down?  
>'Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things<br>I just wanna fix it somehow  
>But how many times will it take?<br>Oh, how many times will it take for me?  
>To get it right<br>To get it ri-igh-ight  
>Can I start again with my faith shaken?<br>'Cause I can't go back and undo this  
>I just have to stay and face my mistakes<br>But if I get stronger and wiser  
>I'll get through this<br>What can you do when your good isn't good enough?  
>When all that you touch tumbles down?<br>'Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things  
>I just wanna fix it somehow<br>But how many times will it take?  
>Oh, how many times will it take for me?<br>To get it right  
>So I throw up my fist<br>Throw a punch in the air  
>And accept the truth that sometimes life isn't fair<br>Yeah, I'll send down a wish  
>Yeah, I'll send up a prayer<br>__And finally, someone will see  
>How much I care!<br>What can you do when your good isn't good enough?  
>When all that you touch tumbles down?<br>__'Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things  
>I just wanna fix it somehow<br>But how many it times will it take?  
>Oh, how many times will it take for me?<br>To get it right  
>To get it ri-igh-ight"<em>

Everyone was on their feet clapping at her, she didn't seem happy though, she was looking directly at Shelby.

"Maybe we could have a talk Shelby" Shelby nodded and ushered everyone out of the auditorium.

/

Neither Shelby nor Rachel had said anything for the past five minutes now and the tension was rising high in the room.

"Rachel. I'm ready to explain" Shelby finally whispered, she was seated in the middle, two rows from behind where Rachel was sat in the auditorium, She refused to look at her mother.

"I know the past couple of months have been rough for us, I just wanted to explain my actions and hope that you will forgive me." A tear slipped down Rachel's face, but she refused to wipe it away, she refused to look weak in front of her mother. It was silent for a few minutes while Shelby tried her best to come up with the right words to say.

"Every time I look at you I see a lot of myself in you, this confident, strong young woman that you've grown into and it makes me so proud." Rachel smiled at this comment.

"I've ruined your life-"

"No, No you haven't, Don't say that" There was another silent pause, and Rachel had still yet to look at Shelby.

"I missed so much in your life, Your first words, your first baby steps, your first singing competition, your first everything, and I regret that." Shelby was hesitant about what she was about to say.

"There was a incident a few years back which led to some surgery, it's all okay now but the point is I can't have any more children, I've always wanted a daughter that's why the first bond with you was so important. I've tried so hard to bond with you, Rachel, Really I have, but for some reason I can't give myself completely to you."

"You know I feel like I should be happy that you're back in my life, that I should jump for joy and run into your arms and you will tell me that everything will be okay, But I don't feel that. Is that wrong?" Shelby shook her head even though she knew that Rachel couldn't see her.

"I think it's because I'm your Mother, but not your mom." Rachel let Shelby's comment process in her head. It was true.

"How do you feel?"

"Afraid" Shelby admitted.

"How do you feel?" She echoed Rachel's question.

"Thirsty" Rachel realised that Shelby had gone quiet again and decided to explain her answer. "When I was little and I got scared my Dads would always bring me a glass of water and it got to a point where we couldn't tell if I was scared or just thirsty." Shelby nodded with a sad look on her face.

"See, It's stuff like that, that I have missed out on. I'm never going to have that with you."

"Where do we go from here then?"

"I want to try again Rachel, I-"

"Why did you do it?" Rachel cut in.

"Do what?"

"Why did you leave? I mean you say you want to try again, but you came back in our lives three years ago and you want the chance to _try again_ now, why not when you came back?" Shelby was blown away she was not expecting that.

"Rachel I-" She didn't know what to say, she had so much to tell her but had no idea how to put it into words.

"It's okay if you can't tell me right now. But I hope you can tell me sometime soon, before it's too late, before you lose me altogether." Those were Rachel's last words before she got up and left her mother alone in the room. Shelby took in her part words to heart.

/

**I introduced Blaine to this chapter, I know it's not a lot, but he meets Kurt in the next chapter, so there will be a lot more Blaine. So LOTS of drama. I am going to make _Chapter 8_ regionals, excited as much as me? Also you will find out in the next chapter why Rachel was on edge. I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to update today but guess what I did. Please review and carry on reading. **


	6. AN

Did I _**excite**_ you with the prospect of a new chapter? _Sadly, _it is not a new chapter, just an **author's note.**

So I know I promised an update every Sunday, but it is hard to keep track and I have also decided now that I won't be updating till I get at least a couple more reviews.

I have started back at college and it is hard to keep on track when I get loads and loads of assignments to do. But I am _**NOT**_ giving up on this story I can promise you that. I will update sometime this week but I'm not going to set a date just in case I cannot stick to it. With that being said I will leave it at that, You can follow me on twitter for new updates, **twitter/EternalIcons**.

Ella Mariiee


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